Trust in me my friend, for I am your comrade.I will protect you with my last breathWhen all others have left youAnd the loneliness of night closes in,I will be at your side.

Together we will conquer all obstacles,And search out those who wish to do harm to others.All I ask of you is compassion,And the caring touch of your hands.

It is for you that I will unselfishly give my lifeAnd spend my nights unrested.Although our days togetherMay be marked by the passing of the seasonsKnow that each day by your side is my reward.

My days are measured byThe coming and going of your footsteps.I anticipate them at every opening of the door.You are the voice of caring when I am ill,The voice of authority when I have done wrong.

Do not chastise me unduly,For I am your right arm,The sword at your side.I attempt to do only what you bid of me.I seek only to please you and remain in your favor.

Together you and I shall experienceA bond only others like us will understand.When outsiders see us together,Their envy will be measured by their disdain.

I will quietly listen to youAnd pass no judgement,Nor will your spoken words be repeated.I will remain ever silent,ever vigilant, ever loyal.

And when our time together is doneAnd you move on in the worldRemember me with kind thoughts and tales,For a time we were unbeatable,Nothing passed among us undetected

If we should meet again on another streetI will gladly take up your fight,I am a Police Working DogWe are the guardians of the night.

Author Unknown

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Cicero

GUARDIAN ANGEL SHEPHERDS QUESTIONNAIRE These questions are necessary to be sure you are knowledgeable in regards to raising a working line German Shepherd. I ask these questions because I CARE where my puppies will be spending the rest of their lives. I also use this questionnaire to help with the decision of which puppy is most suited to your needs. So please give some thought to your answers.

My contract does not state that you must either put down or return your puppy to me. I believe, that is a ploy of unscrupulous breeders. They know that you won't be able to give up the puppy you already have. THIS IS NOT THE CASE AT GUARDIAN ANGEL SHEPHERDS! We stand by our dogs 100%.

PS And as of June 2017 I have replaced only 1 puppy in over 25 years of breeding.

The video above is one of the first walks my 2003 puppies went on as a group. You will see one pup (nicknamed boost his confidence, we allow him to figure it out on his own. You will hear me call "Kahlua" a few times as she was on her way to go pick him up and carry him down the hill. This would not have boosted the little guys confidence. "Boo" is now a therapy dog in Washington.

Tribute to the SAR Dogs of 9/11

In 1997, I sold a puppy to an Irish soldier who was living in Canada while taking military training. He told me he wanted to have a family pet but would also like to go into Search & Rescue. I picked out a puppy for him who's name was "Timber". We kept in touch for several years and he was very proud that both he and Timber had succeeded at becoming a qualified SAR team. I lost track of them over the next couple of years because the family was posted to several different locations.

On September 11th, I was in the United States. (That's another long story!) We ended up at a friend's relative's house where we watched with the rest of the world. To my amazement, large as life, was Tom & Timber, searching through the rubble! I can't tell you the amount of pride that overwhelmed me as I watched Timber scrambling over the debris looking for victims. It still brings tears to my eyes. In my own small way, I was able to help people in their time of need. The true credit goes to Tom & Timber for the endless hours of work that was needed to become a qualified SAR team! I am proud of both of you, beyond words...

There were over 300 dog teams deployed to New York City after September 11th.

JUST A DOGFrom time to time, people tell me, "lighten up,it's just a dog," or, "that'sa lot of money for just a dog." They don'tunderstand the distancetraveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for"just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with"just a dog." Many hourshave passed and my only company was "just a dog,"but I did not once feelslighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought aboutby "just a dog," and inthose days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just adog" gave me comfortand reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you willprobably understandphrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or"just a promise."

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence offriendship, trust, andpure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patiencethat makes me a betterperson.

Because of "just a dog", I will rise early, takelong walks and looklongingly to the future. So for me and folks likeme, it's not "just a dog"but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of thefuture, the fondmemories of the past, and the pure joy of themoment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me anddiverts my thoughts away frommyself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it'snot "just a dog", but thething that gives me humanity and keeps me from being"just a man or woman."So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog",just smile -- becausethey "just don't understand."

I (the person) agree to take you (the dog) under my care and protection.

I will love you, and you will love me. I will work to earn your respect.

I will give you the time and attention that you need.

I am the leader of the dog/handler team and it is my job to learn how to lead you in ways you understand.

I will spend the time it takes to learn to train you and to socialize you. As I am learning, I will teach you and socialize you and you will teach me about yourself and your learning style.

I will praise you lavishly when you do something right--every time and reward you with cookies much of the time.

I will not ask you to do things that you cannot do. I understand that you, as a dog, are a different species with your own type of intelligence, instinct and motivation, which are very different from my own. I understand that you are a unique individual. As a human, it is my responsibility to know your abilities at any given moment throughout your life and to have expectations that fit your abilities. It is my responsibility to learn how your mind works; to learn how you grow and develop; to know how to communicate with you; and to always send you a clear message. It is my responsibility to prepare you for the future.

It is my job to make sure you are successful. When you do something wrong, I will understand that you are not to blame: you were either: insufficiently trained, insufficiently understood, insufficiently socialized or experienced, insufficiently supervised or that you did not understand what I wanted you to do. If those things do not apply, I will find out what is going on with your health or environment that caused you to make a mistake. I will try not to lose my temper and yell at you, and I will never strike you in anger. I will sometimes correct you to remind you to pay attention, but will not punish you. I will figure out a way to repeat the teaching so that you understand things better and practice more effectively. I will rearrange your environment and schedule so that you can't get into trouble; and will make sure you are not put in situations that you are too unprepared, too inexperienced or too immature to handle. As I am not perfect, I will never expect you to perform perfectly no matter how much we have practiced.

I will protect you from danger by fences, leads, and safety measures in the car. I will see that you get good veterinary care and will provide you with good food, but not too much.

I will give you opportunities to get enough exercise. We will have fun doing things together.

I will feed and groom and bathe you, but also cuddle and pet you and play with you.

In return for all that I will do for you, you will give me rewards beyond measure, among which are: your unconditional love, your joy of life, your lack of criticism, your tolerance, your sense of humor, your beauty of body and soul and your patience with my faults.